Ella Enchanted 2: Life at the Palace
by Faerie Ana
Summary: Chapter 2 is up! Ella meets Char's parents and reveals her deception.
1. Chapter One

Ella Enchanted 2: Life at the Palace  
  
A/N: This takes place when Ella has just broken the curse and agreed to marry Char, before the epilogue. (They are still in Dame Olga's house) Unfortunately I don't own any of the characters, they all belong to the great Gail Carlson Levine.  
  
Chapter One- Freedom  
  
'You're free. The curse is over love.' Mandy's words kept running through my head. Finally, after all these years it was over, I had broken the curse. I felt so much lighter, as if I had lost a part of myself, and I have never felt better. I looked up into Char's eyes and pulled myself closer against him. He looked so handsome, smiling from our kiss, with some of my soot on his cheek. I smiled back at him. He leaned in to kiss me again, but right as our lips were about to meet Hattie jumped between us. "Ella, what do you think you are doing?" She shrieked, "Cursed or not, you are still a scullery maid, and no match for a prince." Her face softened, "Now, I, on the other hand am of noble blo-" Before she got a chance to finish, Char fiercely interrupted her, "I do not care if Ella is a scullery maid or a duchess. I love her and that's all that matters." He looked down lovingly at me, then his gaze turned back to Hattie. "You may have noble blood, but you certainly aren't a noble person." I stared stupidly at him. I had never seen him so much as udder an unkind word to someone. Hearing his reaction to Hattie made me fall even more in love with him. I smiled at him as he regained his composure. "Ella," He said to me, his eyes sparkling in the dim light of the room. "Will you come to the palace with me tonight?" "Do you honestly think I could possibly spend another day here? With them?" I said, making a disgusted face and gesturing towards my stepfamily, consisting of Dame Olga, Hattie, and Olive. The Prince laughed and took my hand, "Come, I'll help you gather your things" I led him down the servants' corridor and into the rundown room my stepfamily had so kindly let me stay in. Char's face contorted into a shocked expression as he saw the condition of my room. "This is your room?" He exclaimed. Looking around in disbelief. "I find it gorgeous. I'll be disappointed to leave its' homely atmosphere." I ran my hand across the doorframe looking at my room sadly. It took Char a moment before he realized I was joking, and he laughed. Making him laugh was my passion .His eyes met mine, and their gaze seemed to see into my soul. He brushed his hand across my cheek and softly kissed my lips. He pulled back and said, "Now hurry up and pack so we can leave." I quickly packed my few possessions into my small carpetbag, and then dragged Char out of the room. He took my bag while going on about how it is improper to not carry a lady's bag for her. I insisted that I could carry it myself, but in the end gave in to him. As we reached the end of the hall we saw Hattie running, well, running by her standards at least, into her room in a huff. Her hand was clutching something around her neck. At first, I paid no attention to it, just thinking she was upset about Char. Then it dawned on me; she was wearing my mother's necklace! "Hattie!" I screamed at her and I flew after her down the corridor. She turned and gave me a satisfied grin as she locked herself in her room. I began to pound on her door, "Hattie give me back my mother's necklace right now! Or I swear you'll never live to see the light of day!" In a second Char was by my side and He placed his hand on my shoulder to calm me. "I've got an idea, love." He whispered into my ear and winked at me. "Hattie," he began, "I will trade you one of my mothers pieces of jewelry for that old necklace of Ella's, I'm sure a Queen's necklace is of much greater value." That caught her attention. Hattie opened up the door a crack and peaked out. "Ok, this necklace is rather old fashion." She dropped the necklace in Char's outstretched hand. "When will I get this piece of jewelry you speak of?  
"I will send you one of my mothers finest broaches by carriage for you tomorrow." He said, and then he grabbed my hand and pulled me back to the entry hall.  
"Thank you." I said to my fiancé appreciatively. Char turned me around and fastened the necklace around my neck. I spun around into his arms and kissed him hard. "I love you."  
"I love you too Ella," He said as he stroked my cheek. "Are you ready to go, love? I can't wait to introduce you to my parents, well, to introduce the real you to them."  
I arranged to have Mandy, and Nancy to come and work at the palace. The carriage that delivers Hattie's broach was to pick them up and bring them to the palace tomorrow. It took Mandy about ten minutes to say goodbye to me, she was crying and going on about how proud she is of me. I finally untangled myself from her and found my way back into Char's arms. We walked outside and Char pulled me on to his horse, so I was positioned in front of him. Everything seemed so surreal, like I was outside of my body watching everything that was going on. I tilted my head back to look at Char. I must be dreaming, there's no way this could be happening. I pulled Char's face against mine and kissed him, again. His eyes widened in surprise, but then he closed them and deepened our kiss. This is definitely not a dream. 


	2. Chapter 2 : Meet the Parents

A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing! I really appreciate your comments. I can't seem to figure out how to space the paragraphs. When I upload the chapter it automatically condenses it. If anyone knows what I'm doing wrong please let me know so I can fix it. Until I figure it out, I would like to apologize if this story's spacing causes it to be difficult to read.  
* I do not own any of these characters (though I wouldn't mind owning Char ^_^)  
  
Chapter 2- Meet The Parents  
  
When we arrived at the palace, Char took my arm and led through the ballroom, which still had some lingering guests. "Do you think they'll like me?" I asked him nervously, my voice rising slightly. Char gave me an awkward glance, "Of course they will like you, its impossible not too." He looked confident, but it still wasn't enough to reassure me. Char tugged lightly on my arm as he motioned for me to follow him up the small staircase to where his parents, King Jarrold and Queen Daria, were seated. "Excuse me mother, father, I have someone I would like you to meet." He pulled me in front of him and I curtsied, and thanks to finishing school I managed to stay on my feet. "This is Lady Ella of Frell, my soon to be wife." His parents had a look of udder shock on their faces. His father spoke up first, "Well son, I told you that you would find a bride at one of theses balls!" The king grabbed my hand and shook it fiercely. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lady Ella, I am so happy that my son has chosen a bride, you seem like lovely young woman." My heart soared at his words; maybe this wasn't going to be so hard after all. Then I noticed Char's mother looking at me skeptically. "Child, you look oddly familiar, have we met before, perhaps I know your parents?" The Queen questioned me. I looked to Char for support. He nodded to me, and gave my hand a light squeeze. "Why yes, your Highness, I believe you did know my mother, Lady Eleanor, though she sadly passed away a few years back." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, but I forced myself to push them back. "Ahh, yes, I do remember her. She was such a lovely woman. I grieved at her death." My love's mother seemed to warm up to me a little, "Though, I do believe I have met you somewhere else, more recently. You look all too familiar."  
Once again I looked to Char, he could tell I was now too nervous and upset to continue, so he interjected, "Mother Ella is Lela, the girl from Bast I introduced to you last night. She was under a disguise." Both of his parents looked immensely confused. Char went on to tell them all he knew, and I filled in whatever information he left out.  
When we were finished Queen Daria rose and embraced me. "Oh my sweet child, I am so sorry for everything you have gone through. I am honored to have you as part of our family. Tomorrow we will have a grand dinner to celebrate your engagement." I smiled brightly and thanked her about a thousand times. By the time all of the explanations and introductions had finished all of the guests had returned home and only a few servants remained, still wiping down and rearranging the tables.  
King Jarrold let out a loud yawn, in an effort to signal he was ready to retire to his room, but Queen Daria continued chatting away about plans for tomorrow night's dinner. "Oh, we simply must call up the delightful singer from Ayortha, you remember who I'm talking about right Char?" she didn't wait for answer, "You'll love her voice Ella, it's like listening to the birds sing." I nodded politely whenever it was appropriate as the Queen jabbered away, until char finally interrupted.  
"Mother, it's getting late, and Ella still needs to settle in." He said motioning towards my small travel bag in his hand. "I'll go ahead and show her to my room."  
The King loudly cleared his throat. "Lady Ella may stay in the guest room adjoining yours until you are wed." he said giving Char a very stern look.  
"Fine." Char replied looking disappointed, but I couldn't help but notice a familiar twinkle in his eyes. It was the same look he had when we were sliding down the banisters after my father's wedding. "Good night."  
"Good night" I said to my future mother and father-in-law.  
Char grabbed my hand and lead me out to the hallway directly outside of the ballroom. He immediately engulfed me in his arms. "Oh love, I told you not to worry. My parents are yours completely, as am I." He said, repeating the line from his last letter. "I love you Ella." He said giving me a light kiss. He pulled back and beamed down at me before taking my hand and leading me down a series of hallways. "Now lets go get you settled in."  
  
We walked hand in hand down the hall for a few minutes before he stopped in front of a large door. "Ella, you can sleep in the spare room, or if you.um.if you want to, you can.um.well, you can sleep in my room, with me." He looked at me nervously, his eyes filled with hope.  
  
"I want to stay with you, but what about what your father said?" I asked. He smiled. "What they don't know won't hurt them." He winked at me. "Besides, they only said that because they afraid of what we might do, all alone in my room together. If we just- you know, lay together, for now, there won't be anything for them to be upset about." It seems as though my disregard for rules has rubbed off on him. I smiled to myself and wondered which of his qualities have rubbed off on me. "That sounds good to me." He pulled me against him and kissed me hard. We walked into his room and he gave me a dress to sleep in. I looked around and couldn't believe how beautiful it was. There were landscapes all across the walls in brilliant colors, and his bed had drapes hanging all around in rich golds and reds. The two of us changed and climbed excitedly into the bed. Char leaned over and kissed me good night. "Sweet dreams, Ella my sweet, I love you." "I love you too," I said to him, returning the kiss. I curled up into his arms and we both fell asleep.  
* * *  
  
A/N: I'll try and update this as soon as possible, my dad's been messing with my computer and it keeps freezing up on me now. If you don't see an update within the next week, it means I have gotten a hold of a hammer and given the computer a little makeover.. 


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